A Secret Life
by POstable1231
Summary: Oliver and Shane attempt to return a lost letter to its intended recipient, only to uncover a well-guarded secret along the way.
1. Chapter 1

_My first fanfic. The main characters belong to Martha Williamson/Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and are based on the Signed, Sealed, Delivered television movie series. Any resemblance of other characters that are introduced in this story to any living person are purely coincidental._

Oliver O'Toole carefully slit the envelope and placed the letter opener back in its proper location. He gently removed the contents and unfolded a handwritten letter. With a glance at his colleagues, who were watching him attentively, he began to read.

"Dear Sterling, I'm so sorry for leaving you without an honest explanation. The truth of the matter is that I was scared—I _am_ scared. I just found out some news that changes everything—news that I am sure will be very upsetting to you. First of all, let me say this: I love you and I have loved being Mrs. Sterling Lansford…."

Oliver folded the sheets of paper and placed them back in the envelope.

"Ugh…." Shane groaned.

"Shane." Oliver said, casting his wife a knowing look. "You cannot continue to become personally invested in these letters. As usual, we read only far enough to give us the information we need to conduct our investigation."

Shane nodded and rolled her eyes.

Oliver ignored her expression of disgust. "Let's run a search for a Sterling Lansford in the Denver area. We know that the letter was postmarked only a few months ago and was addressed to something Lane in Denver."

"I'm on it," Shane replied, heading back to her laptop. Oliver followed her, while Norman and Rita resumed their duties.

Oliver watched as she worked, still marveling in Shane's research skills and ability to use the internet to their advantage. No doubt, she was a valuable asset to the team. Within a few moments, Shane had found a couple of Sterling Lansfords in the Denver area, but only one who lived on a lane instead of an avenue, drive, street, etc.

"Here we go," she said proudly, rattling off the address.

"Good work, as always, Mrs. O'Toole," Oliver responded with an approving nod and a smile. "Ready for a drive?"

"Let's go," Shane said, flashing her husband a grin and gathering her things.

"Norman, Rita, we're going to deliver," Oliver announced, heading toward the exit with Shane. "I anticipate that we will return shortly, so please just carry on with business as usual."


	2. Chapter 2

Oliver and Shane walked up the sidewalk to a quaint brick home located at the address Shane had found. Oliver rang the doorbell, and a few moments later, the door was opened by a petite brunette who appeared to be in her early thirties.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"Hi," Shane said. "I'm Shane O'Toole, and this is my husband, Oliver. We are from the U.S. Postal Service. We're looking for a Sterling Lansford."

"Oh, well, he's at work right now."

"Do you know when he'll arrive home?" Oliver inquired. "We have a delivery for him."

The woman stiffened as she glanced at the envelope in Oliver's hand.

"Uh, he's supposed to get off work at five o'clock, but I'm not sure when he'll actually be home. He works a lot of late hours."

Oliver nodded.

"But I can take that for him. I'm his wife," she informed them.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Lansford, but that goes against postal regulations. We must deliver this to him, personally."

The woman appeared to be stung by Oliver's words. Her eyes even appeared to well up with tears.

"I—I think I know what that is," she said. "Please, could you come in for a minute?"

Oliver hesitated for a brief moment, then glancing at Shane and back at the young lady, he nodded.

She showed them the way to the living area and motioned for them to sit. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

The O'Tooles seated themselves on a plush loveseat, declining her hospitable offer, and she sat down in an armchair on the other side of the coffee table. Shane glanced around the room in awe. It was evident by the way the room was decorated that the Lansfords were well-off and had expensive taste.

"Mrs. Lansford," Oliver began.

"Oh, please," she interrupted. "Call me Lauren."

Oliver nodded. "My wife and I work in the Dead Letter Office here in Denver. This letter recently entered our office. I think you should know that we read just enough of the letter to have reason to believe that you might have written it."

"Yes, that's my letter." Lauren had turned pale. "Did you read the whole thing?"

"No, we have not. You revealed the intended recipient's name early on in the letter, so that is where we stopped. Now that we know the letter was written to Sterling Lansford, we're obligated to deliver it to him."

"Please," Lauren pleaded. "I don't know how to say this, except that if you give Sterling that letter, it could ruin us—our marriage, everything."


	3. Chapter 3

Oliver and Shane looked at each other. There was sympathy in Shane's eyes, and while Oliver, too, was sympathetic, he was—as always—determined to do the right thing. Although, at this point, he wasn't exactly sure what that was. He had worked in this field long enough to realize that postal policies were often lacking when it came to real-life, unique situations that needed to be handled on an individual basis and with great care.

"I suppose," Oliver stated, "that if you can give us just cause as to why it would cause harm to your marriage, we could possibly deem the letter undeliverable, thereby returning it to the sender."

Lauren looked at both of them and swallowed. "This isn't an easy story to tell. It's quite personal—one I haven't shared with anyone. But I won't risk him receiving that letter. Not now."

Oliver glanced from Lauren to Shane. Shane's eyes were glued to Lauren, just as Oliver had expected. Shane's curiosity was piqued, and although he had forbidden the reading of the remainder of the letter, it appeared that Lauren was about to reveal its contents.

Lauren stood up and began to pace. She blew out a deep breath and began. "Sterling and I were married almost ten years ago. He made it perfectly clear that it would always be just the two of us—that he was not interested in being a family man. I loved him, and I agreed to the stipulation, believing that one day he would change his mind. For the first few years, everything was fine. But then, I started to want children. It just seemed natural—like it was supposed to be the next step in our lives. Our friends were having babies, and I became more and more frustrated at the thought of remaining childless. Every time I tried to discuss it with him, he wouldn't entertain the idea at all. It began to seem like such an impossible dream."

Oliver stole another glance at his wife. It was apparent that she was moved by Lauren's speech so far. Shane's expression was melancholy and reflected his own feelings on the situation.

Lauren stopped pacing, wrung her hands, and looked up at the ceiling. "That's when I decided to take matters into my own hands, so to speak." She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. "I didn't tell him. I know it was wrong, but I allowed him to think that I was still taking precautions even though I wasn't anymore. It didn't take long before I discovered that I was expecting a baby."


	4. Chapter 4

Oliver and Shane exchanged glances once again. This time, their expressions were full of shock. This situation was clearly more than they had anticipated.

"I tried, for a whole month, to find the right time and the right way to tell him, but I was terrified. I kept finding ways to bring up the topic of children, and he kept finding ways to tear it down. It was so discouraging. I knew that I had made a huge mistake, but I kept hoping, praying that he would change the way he felt about having children. The last straw was when he told me that if I ever somehow ended up pregnant, it would ruin his life."

"Wow," Shane muttered. "He felt _that_ strongly about it?"

Lauren nodded, her lips quivering. "He's very career-oriented—you know, working his way to the top. Truth be told, twelve-hour work days are not unusual for him. He says he wants us to be free to buy what we want and travel the world whenever we want without being tied down. The problem is, we're totally tied down—to his career. He doesn't like to spend his hard-earned money, and we certainly don't go anywhere. He won't take any vacation days for fear of falling behind in his work or losing clients."

"You never have enough money if all you have is money…." Oliver stated.

"Exactly!" Lauren looked at Oliver with an expression that almost resembled relief, as if no one had ever understood her before. "I mean, what good is money if you can't spend any of it? Maybe it makes him happy, but it's not making me happy. I spend a lot of days—and late evenings—here alone at home." She stopped short. "I'm so sorry. I don't know why I just shared all of that with you. I've never shared any of this with anyone—not even family."

"Please," Shane said. "Don't apologize. Everybody needs to be able to let go of burdens, and I'd say this is a pretty big one. If you don't mind me asking, what happened after you found out about the baby? Did you tell him?"

"I didn't know what to do. So I decided to get away to clear my mind. We own a few vacation places, and I knew what was available at the time. I took off the next morning right after he left for work. I didn't tell him where I was going, or that I was leaving at all. I was under a lot of stress, but I tried to relax and figure out what to do. That's when I decided to write him a letter. I explained everything in the letter and mailed it that evening after I arrived at the condo. I didn't call. I knew he would, and sure enough, he first called me at about 9:00 that night when he got home from work. I told him I was okay and that I just needed a change of scenery. He seemed to understand and said he just wished I had let him know before I left. I'm sure it was strange to him, but I knew the letter would explain everything, once he received it.

"We stayed in touch over the next week but he never mentioned the letter. I could tell just by his voice that he didn't know anything. I assumed the letter was somehow delayed or that something had happened to it. I waited a few more days. He kept calling me and telling me how much he missed me. Apparently, he was growing more and more concerned. After almost a week, he told me that if I didn't come back home soon, he was going to come join me, which was surprising given his work habits. I was ready to see him again, but we still had an issue to deal with and I just wasn't sure how to address it."

Lauren paused and released a deep sigh. "That's when the unthinkable happened."


	5. Chapter 5

Shane and Oliver watched Lauren intently, waiting for what was to come next.

Lauren took a deep breath, and her eyes filled up with tears. "I was still at the condo when I lost the baby."

Shane gasped and grabbed Oliver's hand, her own eyes becoming teary as well. "Oh, Lauren, I'm so sorry! I don't even know what to say."

"I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I mean, I was married to a man who never wanted a child in the first place. Maybe it was just nature's way of taking care of the problem."

Oliver glanced at Shane and could tell she was speechless. A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and cascaded down her cheek. Oliver gently rubbed her hand with his thumb to comfort her as best he could at the moment and, clearing his throat, turned his attention back to Lauren.

"I am terribly sorry for what you endured," Oliver spoke sincerely to Lauren. "I'm sure it must have been extremely difficult."

"Thank you. It _was_ hard. The hardest part was being alone. I felt completely helpless. I knew what was happening and there was nothing I could do to keep it from happening." Lauren choked back a sob. "Since I was out of town, I went to the ER and they confirmed my fear. I returned home a couple of days later, when I felt up to making the drive, and followed up with my doctor over the next few weeks. Things went back to the way they were rather quickly, although that loss has forever changed me.

"I made sure to check the mailbox every day myself so I could intercept the letter should it arrive. I never told Sterling." Lauren folded her arms across her chest and sighed, then looked at Shane and Oliver with pleading eyes. "Please, don't deliver this letter to him. Once he knows the truth about what really happened, he'll never forgive me for deceiving him."

Shane looked at Oliver, her eyes pleading with him as well. He nodded slightly and turned back to Lauren.

"Mrs. Lans—Lauren," Oliver began as he stood up, "Due to the nature of the letter and that it was written under highly unusual circumstances, and because we have determined that you are, indeed, the author of this letter, we believe that it is appropriate to make an exception in this particular case and return it to the sender."

Lauren sighed with relief as she took the envelope Oliver held out to her. "Oh, thank you. Thank you so very much."

Oliver cleared his throat. "I don't mean to intrude, but I think maybe you should consider talking to your husband about what happened. I do believe that I would want to know, if it were me. You might be surprised at his response. After all, love and forgiveness go hand in hand."

Shane looked at her husband admiringly as she stood by his side. She agreed with him, but she could definitely understand things from Lauren's point of view. She couldn't help but wonder what would happen between the couple once she and Oliver were gone. Once again, her curiosity got the best of her and she was already hoping for a follow-up.

Lauren nodded and looked down at the letter she held in her hands. "I'll think about it."

The three said their good-byes, Lauren thanking them once again as she walked them to the front door.

Oliver and Shane descended the front steps to the sidewalk, then Shane stopped and turned around. "Lauren? If you ever need someone to talk to, please feel free to give me a call." Shane handed Lauren a card with her name and number on it.

"I will. Thank you, Shane," Lauren said gratefully.

Shane gave her a genuine, sympathetic smile. The couple continued down the front sidewalk, and Oliver opened the passenger door for Shane. With a wave at Lauren, who was still standing on the front porch, Shane got in the Jaguar and Oliver closed the door once she was settled. He rounded the front of the car and positioned himself in the driver's seat, and soon they were on their way back to the DLO.


	6. Chapter 6

Silence engulfed the two of them for several moments. Shane was deep in thought, and Oliver was well aware that the afternoon's events had affected her deeply. He reached over and placed his hand on her thigh.

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked, casting a concerned glance at Shane and then forcing his attention back to the road.

"Yeah," Shane responded grimly. "It's just—It's heartbreaking."

"That it is," Oliver solemnly agreed, his eyes still focused on the road ahead.

"I just cannot imagine what kind of life that must be—to be married to such a workaholic. She must be so lonely. And then to think about how she felt the need to hide the news of their baby from him….and then going through such a painful loss all by herself and keeping everything a secret. She might not have even lost the baby if she hadn't been under so much stress! My heart hurts for her. How could he—" Shane was growing angrier by the second. She blew out a breath and wiped at the corner of her eyes. "How could he deny her something that is clearly so important to her?"

"I don't know. He must have his reasons—or at least some justification as to why he is so set in his ways," Oliver replied. "Shane, I've said this before, but I think it is worth repeating. Communication is of dire importance, especially in a marriage. It seems that the Lansfords might have some trouble talking with one another."

"I know," Shane said, with a sigh.

Oliver nodded and stated, "I hope that she can find the courage to talk to him about what happened."

"And I hope that he can be open-minded enough to see things from her point of view and to consider her desires," Shane finished.

Oliver pulled the Jaguar into an open space and shifted to park. Shane was already taking her seatbelt off and reaching for the door handle.

"Sweetheart," Oliver said, stopping Shane in her tracks. He used such endearing terms somewhat sparingly, so when he did, she listened. She turned and looked at her husband, who was casting her such a loving look that it touched her very soul.

"I hope that you feel that you can talk to me about anything, anytime. You _do_ know that, right?" He reached up and tenderly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yes," Shane said, with a small smile. "Yes, of course, I do, Oliver. And I thank you for that."

"I mean it, from the heart. I don't ever want you to feel afraid or worried to tell me things. We're in this life together—you and me….and whoever else God might send our way." Oliver let out a small, emotional chuckle as he held her hand and turned her wedding bands back and forth slightly.

"Well….in that case—there is something you probably should know," Shane teased, biting her lower lip, her eyes twinkling.

Oliver's expression turned to shock as he stared into her eyes for a few seconds. "What? Shane, are you—?"

Shane had put her free hand on his chest to stop him. "I….would be lost without you."

Oliver closed his eyes and blew out a breath. Shane looked at him quizzically, not sure how to read his expression. Before she could ask, he covered her hand with his and leaned toward her.

"I think it's time that we have a certain significant discussion—so we _will_ do that soon," Oliver promised her. "For now, I want you to rest assured that I love you very much, Mrs. O'Toole, and I want nothing more than for you to be happy."

Tears formed in Shane's eyes, and a couple escaped down her cheeks. "I love you, Mr. O'Toole."

Oliver leaned in even closer, smiling at her, and whispered softly, "You're one in a million."

He gently kissed Shane's tears away. Then he claimed his wife's lips, kissing her with such love and tenderness that she melted. Beneath the surface of their physical connection was an underlying message that spoke passionately to her heart. She would always be safe—and happy—with Oliver O'Toole.


End file.
